Inside the Ink

The Week in Breach: 09/30/18 – 10/05/18

Canadian ISP Altima experiences a breach and loses customer payment information while China is caught purportedly sneaking microchips into servers.

Trends in data found on the Dark Web this week:

Total Compromises:24,968

Top Source Hits:ID Theft Forum

Top PIIs compromised: Domains

Clear Text Passwords (24,884)

Top Company Size:11-50

Top Industry:Construction and Engineering

Canada- Altima Telecomhttps://techcrunch.com/2018/10/01/altima-telecom-server-flaw-customer-data-exposed/Exploit:SQL injection attack.Altima Telecom:Serving Montreal and Toronto, Altima Telecom is one of the largest independent Canadian internet service providers.Risk to Small Business: 1.555 = Severe:As the risk score shows, this is a severe breach that could deal major damage to any organization. Payment info exposure is a particularly significant deterrent for customers looking to do business.Individual Risk: 2.142 = Severe:Those affected by this breach are at an increased risk for identity theft and spam.Customers Impacted: All of Altima Telecom’s customers.How it Could Affect Your Customers' Business: Not only was all the organization’s customer data exposed by this breach, but the affected data was highly sensitive. This would sever trust between the customer and the organization, which could take a significant time to rebuild.ID Agent to the Rescue:Spotlight ID™ by ID Agent offers comprehensive identity monitoring that canhelp minimize the fallout from a breach such as this. Learn more:https://www.idagent.com/identity-monitoring-programsRisk Levels:1 – 1.5 = Extreme Risk1.51 – 2.49 = Severe Risk2.5 – 3 = Moderate Risk*The risk score is calculated using a formula that considers a wide range of factors related to the assessed breach.

United States– Apollohttps://cyware.com/news/hackers-hit-apollo-stealing-database-containing-200-million-contact-records-d9c87501https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/01/apollo-contacts-data-breach/Exploit:Unclear at this time.Apollo:New York-based sales engagement startup.Risk to Small Business: 2 = Severe:This could deal a significant blow to an organization’s ability to retain customers.Individual Risk: 2.428 = Severe:The customers affected by this breach will be at a higher risk for spam due to the nature of the data accessed.Customers Impacted: 200 million.How it Could Affect Your Customers' Business:A breach that exposes such a large number of customers will garner media attention and erode customer trust significantly.ID Agent to the Rescue:Spotlight ID by ID Agent offers comprehensive identity monitoring that canhelp minimize the fallout from a breach such as this. Learn more: https://www.idagent.com/identity-monitoring-programsRisk Levels:1 – 1.5 = Extreme Risk1.51 – 2.49 = Severe Risk2.5 – 3 = Moderate Risk*The risk score is calculated using a formula that considers a wide range of factors related to the assessed breach.

In Other News:The Chinese Chip China was able to infiltrate US companies and governmental agencies with a simple but effective supply chain attack. The attack was discovered after Amazon had a third party examine the hardware of the servers they purchased from another American company that manufactures their servers in China. The company discovered a microchip onthe servers that allowfor attackers to make stealth doorways on their network. Hardware attacks are rarer and more difficult to execute than software attacks, but with China making 90% of the world’s PCs, they are in a good position to continue using hardware to infiltrate organizations across the world.

Where should I go?This is a normal question one thinks about when planning a trip. Should I go to white sandy beaches or breathtaking mountains?When should I go?Do I visit family during the holidays, or do I plan a summer getaway?Who should I be?This question is asked much less, but maybe more than you think. A recent study has uncovered startling secrets surrounding the passport market on the Dark Web!

The average cost of a passport scan on the Dark Web is$14.71.

Australian passport scans are the most common, but the average cost is the most expensive at$61.27.

The average price of a real physical passport is$13,567, while a counterfeit physical passport is just under$1,500 ($1,478).